During his Reddit AMA, Sen. Trillanes outlined his proposed solutions to the situation in Marawi that does not require Martial Law. In his view, the declaration of Martial Law was unnecessary and there are existing solutions that are effective even without the declaration of Martial law.
Let us examine his solutions and see if they will indeed be effective without the declaration of Martial Law. Before we do that we have to establish a few facts:
- The Maute terror group is a legitimate security threat that follows the same methods as ISIS.
- The terrorist threat in the Philippines is not isolated in Marawi as we have seen in the incidents in Bohol, the capture of a Maute family member in Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
- The Maute group was clearly planning to take over the city of Marawi and establish it as their own seat of power here in the Philippines.
- The President of the Philippines has constitutional powers to declare martial law.
I agree with most of Trillanes’ proposals but not in the context that he is proposing it. They are reasonable measures for a long-term and sustained counter terrorism program of the government but he forgets the very important fact that the threat is imminent. Trillanes complains about the declaration of Martial Law without addressing why martial law is inherently bad in this situation. He offers solutions that he claims are effective even without the declaration of martial law but he does not bother explaining how martial law is either ineffective or counter-productive as a solution.
Let us take his proposal for a sustained military operations without the declaration of Martial law. For the government to launch a sustained military operation in domestic territory, it has to have justification. The AFP is mandated by the constitution to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory. For the military to be engaged domestically the threat must be to the sovereignty of the State and integrity of its national territory. This is the very reason why Duterte declared Martial law – there was a threat to the State’s sovereignty and national territory when the Maute group wanted to topple the local government of Marawi and establish their own government. The Philippine constitution allows the President to declare Martial Law in this situation – there is no debate in this. The issue Trillanes seems to have is that the declaration of Martial Law is unnecessary for sustained military operations to be effective. This is where he is wrong. Sustained military operation in a domestic urban setting against an insurgent group cannot operate under normal circumstances. The enemy can easily blend into the civilian population which makes ordinary rules of engagement difficult. The declaration of Martial Law allows the military to search, seize or arrest anyone they deem a threat then ask questions later. The primary objective for the government right now is to re-take the city and re-establish its authority. Ensuring the government is able to re-take the city as soon as possible allows the government to re-establish law and order and to start the rebuilding process for the city. Martial law declaration is key in ensuring this happens fast. Trillanes forgets that the Maute attack in Marawi and the ensuing battle between the armed forces and the terrorist has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A protracted armed conflict in the region is not ideal for the internally displaced. The sooner the government can establish control and regain order the better it is for everyone.
Let us talk about his 2nd and 3rd proposal about increasing the AFP/PNP’s intelligence fund and intensify intelligence operations that will eventually pin-point the exact location of terrorist cells without affecting the way of life and freedom of the Filipinos. Here again Trillanes surprises me – how could he be so daft when he claims to be a military man himself? Intelligence operations is not that simple. Pouring money into your intelligence apparatus does not result in pin-pointing the exact location of terrorist cells. This is a pipe dream of someone who is high on crack! The United States spends billions in intelligence and counter intelligence operations and it still cannot pin-point the exact location of terrorist cells. The idea that an expansive intelligence operation does not affect the freedom of the Filipino is also another pipe-dream. Setting aside the clear fantastical nature of this proposal, let us pretend it is possible to establish such a sophisticated surveillance network in the Philippines, does he expect this to happen overnight? Again this proposal, if it is even possible, requires time to develop and to yield any result. Just look at how long it took the United States to find Osama Bin Laden. So while the government is building a surveillance apparatus, what does Trillanes expect the people of Marawi to do? Just leave the city for now and let the Maute group establish an extension of the Islamic state. I am also surprised that Trillanes is so concerned about abuses under Martial Law yet he is very willing to propose establishing a Surveillance state that is a bigger threat to freedom and liberty.
He also proposed to allow the AFP to recruit an additional 20,000 troops to augment its forces to deal with the security threat. How exactly this addresses the clear and present threat of the Maute terrorist group is beyond me. Does he want to enlist 20,000 people and then send them to the front-lines right away? Of course not! They have to be trained first. So, while they are being trained what does Trillanes expect the government to do while the Maute group is wrecking havoc in the region? Call for a time-out?
Again his proposals are not all that bad but they are not mutual exclusive to the declaration of Martial Law. His proposals do not answer the immediate problem – what to do about the situation now. How can the government establish control of the situation and the city as soon as possible? How can the government suppress the threat and start the rebuilding process? How can the government ensure that the terrorist network does not spread much further in the region? These are questions that need immediate answers. Trillanes’ proposed solutions does not address any of these immediate concerns. The declaration of martial law allows the government, through its military, to take control of the area as soon as possible.
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